Lucy's medical bills

Hi All! We hate to have to do this but our 2.5-year-old Lucy is currently fighting for her life at the Animal Medical Center.

Last week she started out with a full body rash, we called the vet and were treating her with antiitch cream. As the week progressed she became lethargic and stopped eating on Thursday - we were worried and scheduled an appointment with the vet for Friday morning. Friday morning there was an alarming amount of blood in her urine on the way to the vet, we were hoping it was just a UTI.

She spent Friday and Friday night at the vet where they diagnosed her with IMHA (Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia) which is an aggressive autoimmune disease in dogs in which her body attacks her red blood cells. Her PCV values continued to drop overnight and Saturday morning they recommended that we bring her to the ER for the blood transfusion she needed.

She has been at the Animal hospital since Saturday, she has been fighting hard - her immune system has not calmed down even with the steroids and other therapies they are giving her. She had three blood transfusions between Saturday and Monday morning. To try and buy time while the medicine kicks in, Monday afternoon she was given TPE (theraputic plasma exchange) which is a full plasma transfer in hopes to remove the antibodies in her blood that are killing her red blood cells, regulate her bilirubin, and minimize the risk for a fatal blood clot.

Tuesday morning we got the update that the TPE treatment worked well but she was in need of a second treatment in hopes to get her into remission, but there is a good chance that she will need a third as many cases do.

IMHA is an aggressive disease in dogs that can be kicked off by something that vets are unable to pinpoint. Her original chances of survival were at 50% and now that she is receiving the blood and plasma transfusions her chance is around 25%, but she is a fighter!

We are coming up on our maximum amount we can afford as pet insurance covers 80% of $20,000 and her current care estimate from the hospital is quoted at $27,000, plus the $2,000 from the Friday vet overnight visit. We want nothing more than to save our little Luce!

Thank you in advance for your generosity during this scary time!